It has been one whole year since the devastating Hurricane Sandy hit the New York/ New Jersey area and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. However, many business owners didn’t let the storm ruin them for good. Businesses such as Crystal Auto, Wheel Concepts, Nu Castleton Collision, and Empire Car Wash are back and fully functional once again. On October 29th from 3PM until 6PM, come out and meet the owners of these small businesses on Staten Island that were destroyed by Sandy one year ago. Check the gallery for the flier!

It seems like Seaside Heights, New Jersey can’t get a break. The boardwalk made famous from “The Jersey Shore” was engulfed in flames starting from a fire inside Kohr’s Ice Cream. The fire started earlier this afternoon and has been growing larger as firefighters are having an extremely difficult time taming the flames. At this time, it has not been contained and keep consuming more and more property while over 400 firefighters have been dispatched to help. The silver lining is that there have been no deaths. Give your prayers to the folks of Seaside Heights at this time. Watch live footage after the jump.

It’s a good day to be an American, especially if you were on Liberty Island today. This 4th of July marks the re-opening of the Statue of Liberty since Hurricane Sandy destroyed its surroundings a few months ago. New York’s, Mayor Bloomberg along with federal officials, and a crowd that stretched for blocks were in attendance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. That includes, Heather and Chris Leykam and their three children, one of the children whom was celebrating a birthday. “This to us, Liberty Island, is really about a rebirth,” said Heather Leykam. “It is a sense of renewal for the city and the country,” she continues. Many around the country are celebrating the fact that one of our nations symbols has been restored for the viewing public, and so am I. Hit the jump and check out some of on-lookers.

After months of repairs on areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, businesses in areas such as the Rockaways or Coney Island are open for customers this Memorial Day weekend. The Rockaways boardwalk is still being repaired, and while it’s not 100% complete you can see it will be there soon. Rockaway Taco is up and running, and so are a few businesses, so check out what’s open and support your local businesses. Check out some photos in the gallery.

After Hurricane Sandy ravished the Jersey Shore, Jersey’s beloved spots were so damaged we thought it would take years to rebuild. After a strong effort by many shore spots to be open by summer time, today Seaside Heights and many other shore towns celebrated their official opening for the season. Today, Governor Chris Christie and the cast of “Jersey Shore,” sans Mike “The Situation,” headed to Seaside Heights to officially open the shore just in time for Memorial Day Weekend! Hopefully all the guidos will head down to Karma and the shore to help bring the revue back to the towns that still have some time before they are fully recovered! Check out pics of the official opening in the gallery.

After years of being a staple on the Seaside Heights boardwalk and becoming a symbol of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction, the Jet Star Roller Coaster will be out of the ocean in about a month. Seaside and other areas strongly affected by Hurricane Sandy have all begun to rebuild in hopes to be back into semi-swing by Memorial Day Weekend; the start of the summer for Jersey. The Jet Star was left in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Seaside when Sandy washed away the famous boardwalk. Read more below.

To aide displaced Hurricane Sandy victims in the very-badly hit area of The Rockaways, Beastie Boys’ Mike D. started up a food truck, and has given out over 19,000 free meals alongside his business partner, Robert McKinley. “It’s a really hearty meal of chicken, beans, rice and vegetables,” he said of the food served. “A very complete, warm, flavorful meal, and certainly a lot more nutritious and balanced than a fast food option.” They’re currently in talks to coordinate with the local community to switch the truck over from giving away food, to charging for food but having it become staffed, run and operated on by local Rockaways citizens.

Hurricane Sandy really did a number on the east coast, man! News broke today that Jay-Z’s popular 40/40 Club in Atlantic City has closed their doors for good, partially because of the lease ending but a majority because of the damage sustained in the storm. The lease ended the same month as the storm, but because of the “tremendous water damage inside the club,” they chose not to renew it. Damn, that was a nice spot! More details below.

If you’re anywhere on the east coast, chances are you’ve had your fair share of Poland Spring bottled water. In a Feb. 7 press release on its website, Poland Spring explained that some bottles may have become contaminated during Superstorm Sandy and that at least one person had gone to the hospital due to contaminated water. Maybe I should switch to Fiji…Find out what was in the water after the jump.

Waka Flocka and BB Kings teamed together to put on a concert to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims. While performing, Waka was joined by Maino, Swizz Beatz, and Wyclef Jean. During the show, Maino presented Waka with triple platinum plaque and performed “Mobbin,” Wyclef spit an acapella freestyle, and a fan got in Waka’s face on stage. Watch a recap of the show below.